Sounds of S

S is a strange letter. It can make so many different sounds. We all know simple /s/ sound words like: sweet, small, see. But words like sugar, desert, tension...can really mess up a reader.

For one of my students, I did a lesson all about the sounds of /s/. We practiced finding the sounds of /s/ in the word cards that I had made. Then my student sorted them into piles. I used some paper bowls and wrote the sounds s could make on them: /s/ /zh/ /sh/ and /z/.

I sent my student home with a page copied out of a chapter book we are reading together. I asked them to highlight the sounds of s while they read it out loud with an adult.

I made the word cards myself and it's intended for older readers. Possibly 3-5th grade (you could sort through and throw some of the harder words out). We all know there are kids even in 5th grade that still struggle with reading. I thought I would share my cards with you. All you have to do is download it here.

You could do this same concept with lots of other sounds that are difficult to master like the /schwa/ sound.

/Sh/ure was great! Hope you come back /sh/ugar.